Crawford County, Illinois - Chapter 2: First Settlement - County Organizations, 1909

Eras Of The Mound Builders And American In Vicinity Of Palestine, Leaves His Name

ERAS OF THE MOUND BUILDERS AND AMERICAN INDIANS - THE FRENCH FIRST WHITE OCCUPANTS - WILLIAM LAMOTTE, THE FIRST WHITE SETTLER IN VICINITY OF PALESTINE, LEAVES HIS NAME ON THE COUNTY MAP - OTHER EARLY FRENCH SETTLERS - COMING OF FIRST AMERICANS - FIRST LAND TRANSFER - ACT CREATING CRAWFORD COUNTY - FIRST OFFICERS - PRECINCT ORGANIZATION AND TAX RATES - PALESTINE BECOMES THE FIRST COUNTY SEAT - IS SUCCEEDED BY ROBINSON IN 1843 - REWARDS FOR WOLF SCALPS - TAVERN LICENSES AND LIQUOR PRICES.

After the eras of the mysterious mound build; ers and their successors, the American Indians, the French were the first occupants of the country where Crawford County is now outlined upon the map, and the.earliest settlement of that people were in the vicinity of the present town of Palestine, the original representative of the his name in connection with Lamotte Creek, Lamotte Prairie, and Fort Lamotte, on the site of which the above named village had its inception. The few French families who first established their homes in this region are supposed to have removed at an early period to Indiana, or settled at St. Louis or Kaskaskia.

FIRST LAND TRANSFER. - The records of the County Clerk's office show that the first conveyance of realty in Crawford County was from John Dunlap, of Edwards County, to Samuel Harris, the deed bearing date December 10, 1816. The names of a number of families have been - handed down as residents at an earlier date, and among the first were those of Kitchell,

Lagow. The arrival of the Eaton family - Benjamin, Joseph, John, Stephen and Richard - is believed to have occurred. 1809. David and A1- len are thought to have arrived the same year; the Van Winkles - Green and Dan - in 1810, the Woods following the next year, and Isaac Hutson a year later, as also the Piersons - Isaac, Joseph and William. In November of 1814 twenty-six families were domiciled within Fort Lamotte, and the fort built at the beginning of the War of 1812 was guarded by a body of ninety frontier troopers, commanded by Capt. Pierce Andrew. Edward N. Cullom, who afterwards became quite prominent in the affairs of the county, bought the land where the fort stood - the present site of Palestine, - for $4.16 per acre, together with a dwelling on it built by one of the Brimberrys.

Considerable numbers of Indians roamed about the country at this period, and they were generally peaceful, but during the War of 1812 they became disaffected, preying upon horses and stock, and in some cases took human life. As a result of one of their raids the entire family of Isaac Hutson, consisting of a wife and six children, perished in the midst of fiendish atrocities. Hutson, himself, after whom Hutson Creek and the town of Hutsonville were named, soon afterwards fell a- victim to the same bloodthirsty band. ^fPhe territory covered by the State of Illinois was originally one of the counties of Virginia, created thus by act of the Virginia House of Delegates passed in 1778, and John Todd was appointed by Governor Patrick Henry as Civil Governor of what was then called the New Illinois Country. At the session of the Legislature of the Illinois Territory in 1816, several counties were formed in Illinois, among them being Crawford, the eleventh in succession, St. Clair, Randolph, Madison, Gallatin, Johnson, Edwards, White, Jackson, Monroe and Pope having preceded it. It was organized from what had previously constituted a part of Edwards County, and is understood to have been named in honot of Gen. William H. Crawford, of Georgia, who

` had served as United States Senator, Minister to France, Secretary of War, and Secretary of the Treasury and was a candidate for President in 1824. The act dividing Edwards County and creating Crawford, provided as follows: "Be it enacted by the Legislative Council and House of Representatives of the Illinois Territory, that all that tract of country within the following boundaries, to-wit: Beginning at the mouth of the Embarras River, and running with the said River to the intersection of the line dividing Townships number three and four north of range cleven west of the second principal meridian; thence west with said township line to the meridian, and then duet north until it strikes the line of Upper Canada; thence to the line that separates this Territory from the State of Indiana, and thence south with said division line to the beginning, shall constitute a separate County, to be called Crawford; and the seat of justice shall be at the house of Edward N. Cullom, until it shall be permanently established in the following method, that is: Three persons shall be appointed. to-wit: John Dunlap, Thomas Handy and Thomas Kennedy, which said commissioners, or a majority of them, being duly sworn before some Judge of Justice of the Peace of this Territory, to faithfully take into view the situation of the settlements; the geography of the country, the convenience of the people, and the eligibility of the place, shall meet on the second Monday in March next, at the house of Edward N. Cullom, and proceed to examine and determine on the place for the permanent seat of justice, and designate the same: Provided, the proprietor or proprietors of the land shall give to said county, for the purpose of erecting public buildings, a quantity of land at said place not less than twenty acres, to be laid out in lots and sold for the above purpose. But should the said proprietor or proprietors refuse or neglect to make the said donation aforesaid, then, in that case it shall be the duty of the commissioners to ments in said county, which place, when fixed fix upon some other place for the seat of justice, as convenient as may be to the different settleand determined on, the said commissioners shall certify under their hands and seals, and return the same to the next county court in the county aforesaid: and as a compensation for their serviees, they shall each be allowed two dollars for every day they be necessarily employed in fixing the aforesaid seat of justice, to be paid out of the county levy, which said court shall cause an entry thereof to be made on their records, etc., etc. . The foregoing document is signed, - "SETH GARD,

"PIERRE MENARD, "President of the Legislative Council." "Approved, December 31, 1816." "NINIAN EDWARDS." For some years after the county was organized all its official business was transagted by Justices of the Peace. The County Court held its first session February 26, 1817, in the dwelling of Edward N. Cullom, in the vicinity of what is now the town of Palestine, Justices Edward N. Cullom and John Dunlap presiding, Francis Cullom being Sheriff, and Edward H. Piper, clerk. The first proceeding was to confirm 'the bond of Mr. Cullom and install Joseph Malcom as constable. It next divided the county into election précinets, the first named "Allison," and extending from the mouth of the Embarras River up the Wabash to the center of Township 5; the second called "Lamotte." and covering the country running from the center of Township u to that of Township 8; and the third, designatea as "Union," took in the region north of Township 8, up to the Canadian line. The assessors of these districts were: for Lamotte, Joel Cheek; Union, Isaac Moore, and Allison, George W. Kineaid. The court also installed road overseers and fence viewers for the same precincts. Taxes were assessed at the following rates: on horses, mares, mules and asses, 3715 cents per head; on stallions, an amount proportionate to fees charged by owners; on every person over sixteen years old held in slavery, $1.00; on all unmarried men over 21 years of age, not having taxable property to the amount of $200, $1.00; on houses of every description, 30 cents on. each ferry, $5, and on that of E. Twombly, $3. The following legal ferriage rates over the Wabash were established: for wagon and team, 75 cents ; a two-wheeled carriage, 3715 cents; a man and horse, 12% cents; a man on foot, 64 cents; two cents a head. At the second term of the eounty court, held in the same house, June 23-24, 1817, Messrs. Cullom and Dunlap and Isaac Moore sitting as Justices, a permit was issued to Isaac Parker to build a water mill on Mill Creek, North of Palestine, some 25 miles; George Catron, William Lockard and James Caldwell were appointed to "view and mark out a road" from Edward N. Cullom's, on Lamotte Prairie, to the head of Walnut Prairie; and to Smith Shaw, Benj: n Eaton and Francis Cullom was entrusted the duty of viewing out another road from Cullom's place to the ferry of Arthur Jones. Edward H. Piper filed his bond as County Clerk; Allen McGahey, as first Coroner, and. John Dunlap as first County Surveyor. The third term was occupied-with minor details; but at the fourth term, held by Justices Samuel Harris, George W. Kincaid, James Shaw, Smith Shaw and Joseph Kitchell, on April 6, 7 and 8, 1818, Seth Gard and Peter Keene presented their report on the location of the county-seat, these gentlemen having been appointed by the Legislature for that purpose in place of those named in the original act. The location was fixed as follows:

"The center of said public square to be 80 rods north of the southeast quarter of Section 31, Township 7, north, Range 11 west, and to extend exactly on the line dividing Sections 34 and 35 in the township above stated. The donation given to the county to be one equal half of 60 acres of ground, to be laid «off on the following quarter-section: To be laid the whole length of the S. E. quarter of Section 34, as above stated, and on the east side of said quarter, and the whole length of the S. W. quarter of Section 35, to be laid the whole length of said quarter, and on the west side of the same."

PALESTINE LAID OuT. - The town of Palestine was laid out on the tract thus described, being divided into 160 lots, with streets and alleys. The land on the east side of the square was owned by Edward N. Cullom, and that on the west, by Joseph Kitchell, every alternate lot being donated to the county by them. Such lots were sold from time to time by David Porter, appointed for this purpose by the county, and stores and houses were gradually built, the place developing slowly into the town of Palestine. This continued to be the county-seat, until by popular vote, October 12, 1843, the town of Robinson was designated in its stead.

At the fourth term of the county court, when Palestine became the official center. "wolf scalps, ant $2 each, were made a legal tender in Crawford County, being receivable for county taxes, and legal tenders for "whisky, tobacco and other necessaries of life" At a subsequent term of court wolf scalps were presented as follows: one, each, by Jan Martin, J. Gallon, John Garrard, Chalkey Draper, John Berry, George W. Carter, John Miller, William Y. Hackett, and William Lowe; nine by James Gain; three, each, by John Allison and Hugh Miller; five by John Wa!drup; two, each, by Jacob Blaze, James Gill and Abram Coonrod; and ten, each, by Thomas Handy and Francis Cullom. At this term it was provided that retailers of whisky should take out a tavern license, and provide sufficient room for a specified number of guests, with accommodations for their horses. . The court regulated the prices of beverages sold by tavern-keepers thus: a half-pint of wine, French brandy or rum, 50 cents; half-pint of peach or apple brandy, 18% cents; half-pint of whisky, 12% cents. The price of a meal was fixed at 25 cents, and of a horse-feed, at 12% cents.